Why Do You Love Me?
by Brigid
Summary: Just an intimate little scene in the messhall. Season 6.


Title: Why do you love me?  
Author: Brigid  
Email: brigidandmike@juno.com  
Rating: [PG-13, language]   
Part: 1/1   
Synopsis: Just an intimate little scene in the mess hall. 6th   
season.   
Disclaimer: Paramount owns the characters but I love to play   
with them.   
Posting:   
Date: May, 2001  
  
Why do you love me?  
  
B'Elanna Torres was having a very bad day. She'd started   
out the day by fighting with Tom over something so important   
that she couldn't even remember what it was anymore. Oh,   
yeah, the engineering department had interrupted them at a   
terribly inconvenient moment, long before Tom's alarm had   
been set to awaken them. As she had moved away from him to   
dress and head for Engineering, he had the audacity to   
complain that her engines were more important to her than he   
was.   
  
It wasn't what she wanted to hear when there was a leaking   
plasma conduit and she was going to have to crawl into one   
of her favorite places, the Jefferies tubes. No, it wasn't   
that no one else could do it, but it was still her   
responsibility. She had heard herself snapping at Tom and   
regretted it the minute the door of his quarters closed   
behind her. But the thought of going back in and   
apologizing was overridden by her concern for a Starship   
that was in its 6th year of a mission with no end in sight,   
and nowhere to stand down for repairs. Tom would live,   
she thought angrily to herself, there were days when she   
wouldn't place the same bet on Voyager.  
  
The day had continued to deteriorate from there. It seemed   
like one thing after another went wrong and the crew in   
Engineering had finally reached the point where they were   
making a concerted effort to stay completely out of her way.   
No one was safe from her wrath on this day, and alarm   
signals had been sent all over the ship. "Stay away from   
Engineering!" She knew what they were saying, and it   
didn't make her mood any better.   
  
Now, it was 2100 and she hadn't had any breakfast or dinner   
and lunch had been a replicated sandwich which she carried   
with her as she worked. Coincidentally, she was in the   
messhall working on Neelix's kitchen replicator. Neelix had   
considered it an emergency that only she could handle, but   
B'Elanna strongly suspected that the engineers had pooled   
their resources at dinner and offered Neelix a significant   
bribe to get her out of Engineering.   
  
The replicator had been recalcitrant as usual, and a few   
good Klingon oaths were rolling around in her head but she   
was getting tired now, too tired to go to the effort of   
cursing out loud. The two crewmen who passed through the   
messhall just then were unaware of her presence but had   
obviously heard about her day.   
  
"Must have been a hell of a day in engineering," one   
began.   
  
"Yeah, the whole ship is talking about the Chief's bad   
mood," his companion agreed. "Paris must be crazy to put   
up with that temper just for a piece of ass."   
  
The first voice replied, "I don't get him. He could have   
any woman on this ship, why would he stick with her?"   
  
B'Elanna was shocked and hurt by their remarks, but she sat   
quietly, hidden in the kitchen until the two had passed   
through the messhall. She was still sitting there when her   
combadge chirped and she heard Tom calling her. In her   
frustration and anger she took the combadge and threw it   
against the back wall of the kitchen.   
  
B'Elanna's temper had never put Tom off before and he   
recognized the sound of a combadge being hurled across a   
room. Undaunted he asked the computer for the whereabouts   
of Lt. Torres and was rewarded with the information that she   
was in the messhall. He found her there, sitting under the   
counter with an indecipherable look on her face. Anger,   
frustration, hurt and uncertainty were all there for Tom to   
see.  
  
"Hey," he began as he squatted in front of her.   
  
"Hey," she responded. It wasn't much, but Tom was willing   
to consider it a good sign. At least she was speaking to   
him.   
  
"What's going on?" he asked.  
  
Her reply surprised him. "Do you love me?" she asked   
abruptly.   
  
"You know I do." He replied with an eyebrow raised in   
question.  
  
"Why?"   
  
"Why?" he repeated, looking at her curiously.  
  
"Yes," she growled, "why? Why would you love me?"  
  
Tom realized that this conversation was going to take a   
while and rearranged himself so that he was sitting cross-  
legged in front of her. "Why do I love you?" he began.   
"Well, you're beautiful, smart and the best engineer in the   
Delta quadrant. It's a well known fact that every good pilot   
needs a great engineer!" he added with a wink.   
  
Tom could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't   
convinced. Someone must have really upset her he thought.   
"You play a mean game of pool," he continued almost   
flippantly but he thought better of it when he felt her   
begin to withdraw. "Hey," he said as he reached for her   
hand and continued in a more serious tone, "I love your   
fiery Klingon temper and the fight you're always having with   
yourself to control it. I love your loyalty to your   
friends, to the Maquis, to Starfleet and to me. I love the   
fact that you always say exactly what you think, long before   
you've thought about it. You're brave and strong, and have   
the honor of a warrior, but you're also warm and soft when   
it's just the two of us. You're an enigma, B'Elanna Torres,   
and I look forward to every day with you and trying to   
figure you out."   
  
His words and his eyes were warm. Tom could tell they were   
bringing out that soft side of B'Elanna that he claimed to   
love, but her hand was still in his and he could feel the   
tension in it. "What's got you so upset?" he asked.   
  
She answered him with a question that threw him off balance.   
"Is it really just for the sex?"   
  
Tom studied her face for several moments before he answered   
her. B'Elanna carefully watched his eyes to see what   
emotions were going on behind those cerulean pools. She saw   
surprise and hurt flash quickly through before he put on a   
façade of composure.   
  
"B'Elanna," he began, "I loved you long before we were   
having sex."   
  
"You did?' she seemed surprised, and asked softly, "When   
did you first know?"   
  
"I knew you were special the first time I saw you in the   
Maquis. I got to where I really enjoyed being called a   
pig," he teased. But then he grew serious, "I knew it was   
more than that when we were captured by the Vidiians. I saw   
your Klingon side and your human side and realized what a   
battle you were fighting. I admired your courage. You didn't   
give up on me when I had to go undercover and leave the ship   
a few weeks after that. That meant a lot to me."   
  
He was sitting next to her now and had his arm around her   
shoulders. B'Elanna decided it felt good to have his arm   
around her, she felt safe until his next question. "Is it   
just sex with you, B'Elanna?" Tom asked very softly.  
  
"No, no, Tom." She turned to look at him and touch his   
face in reassurance. "I mean, the sex is great, but I loved   
you long before we were that close. I'm not exactly sure   
when you stopped being a pig," she gave him a look out of   
the corner of her eye, "but I knew from the time you helped   
rescue Harry and me from the Ocampa that you were a friend.   
Harry said so and we all know Harry can't lie worth a   
damn." Tom smiled at that.  
  
"I think I knew before the little pon farr incident that I   
was in love with you but I didn't have the courage to tell   
you until I thought we were going to die. I wasn't sure how   
you would react." B'Elanna finished uncertainly.  
  
"B'Elanna, I had been pursuing you for two years and I'm   
not usually all that subtle, how could you not know?" Tom   
was incredulous.  
  
"No one has ever loved me like that before. The men who   
were interested before always treated me as a curiosity, a   
Klingon trophy for their virility belts. You never did, you   
never pushed me or tried to change me. When we were in the   
Vidiian prison you gave me strength and the courage to go   
on. You weren't intimidated by the Klingon B'Elanna, or   
disgusted by my cowering human half. No one has ever been   
interested in both halves before."   
  
The look she gave him was full of trust. It gave Tom the   
opening he needed to ask "What brought on this intimate   
little conversation?"  
  
'Nothing," she said quickly and tried to get up.  
  
Tom held onto her arm, "I don't believe you. You're not   
much better than Harry at lying. I may have to give you both   
lessons."   
  
B'Elanna sighed and told him of the conversation she had   
overheard.   
  
Tom understood her anger now and her need for reassurance.   
"Do I need to go break some noses?" he asked.   
  
"No, that's my specialty." She laughed, just a little, but   
Tom could feel the tension ebbing. "I'm not even sure who   
they were."   
  
They sat there for a few minutes just enjoying the quiet   
time together, a little more secure in their love. Finally,   
Tom stood and reached his hand out to help her up. "You are   
finished here, aren't you?"  
  
"Yes, Neelix's replicator is back in perfect condition or   
as near perfect as I can get it 30,000 light years from a   
repair facility," she grumbled.  
  
Tom smiled, "Then let's find your combadge and go back to   
my quarters and replicate some dinner." He paused in deep   
thought and then said, "You know, a really good engineer   
would want to test her work on the food replicator that's   
going to feed the whole ship. Maybe we should try something   
really complicated, like pizza!"   
  
"I don't think so, Flyboy. We'll just go back to your   
place. I have enough rations left this week to get you a   
pizza." She laughed as she made her way to the other side   
of the kitchen to find her recently abused communication   
device.  
  
"That's the other reason I love you," Tom came up behind   
her and put his arms around her waist nuzzling her neck just   
a little to let her know he was interested in more than   
pizza.  
  
"What is?" she asked, turning in his arms to lose herself   
in his eyes.   
  
"You budget your replicator rations so much better than I   
do." He answered her, all innocence and charm.  
  
Her reply was a warm kiss that held a little promise for   
later. They had started out of the kitchen and into the   
eating area when Tom thought to ask B'Elanna, "Why do you   
love me?"  
  
"That's easy," she answered, "it's your eyes. I have   
never known anyone with eyes like yours. All your   
competition had brown eyes, Vorik, Harry, Freddie..."   
  
Tom was speechless and stopped to look at her as she strode   
ahead of him and out the doors of the messhall.   
"B'Elanna," he called, "you're kidding, right? B'Elanna..."   
he was still calling as he followed her through the door.   
  
Unnoticed by either of the young officers, they had been   
observed. Captain Janeway and Neelix had both almost walked   
in on the poignant scene. They looked at each other now from   
the corner where they had stood quietly in the shadows   
waiting for an appropriate moment to interrupt.   
  
Neelix was the first to speak. "Young love is a beautiful   
thing, isn't it, Captain?"  
  
Kathryn nodded, 'Yes, Mr. Neelix, it is." She moved to   
discreetly brush away a tear. "Any coffee left?" she   
asked.  
  
"I think we should try out the replicator and see if it   
will give us some of the real thing. What do you think,   
Captain?" The little Talaxian bobbed in excitement at   
sharing such a precious moment with his captain.  
  
"I think that's a wonderful idea, Mr. Neelix, and while   
we're at it, I'd like to know how it does on apple pie,   
wouldn't you?" Kathryn gave him a conspiratorial grin as   
they began to test B'Elanna's repair. But both knew there   
was no way they were going to mention it if the repairs   
weren't effective. At least not until morning.  
  
THE END  
  
  



End file.
